The Andalucian harvest: sherry, sweet wine and a very good time

So youve done the tour of French vineyards and youre looking for something new, or perhaps youve been to and done the Tuscan wineries and you want a different take on the grape scene. Andalucia makes for a surprisingly sophisticated harvest experience; and lets face it, la fiesta is in the Spanish blood so its not hard to find a good time along the way. The province of Jerez may be utterly serious about its sherry production (theyve been making sherry in the region for thousands of years), but when the harvest work is done the celebration rages on for three full weeks from the first weekend in September. Flamenco and other music and dance, horses and an unending flow of grapes, raisins and, of course, sherry highlight the festivities. Less well known outside of Andalucia today, but making a new resurgence after the global heyday of the 17th-19th Centuries, is the swe...